Sunday, June 24, 2007

I have an olive tree in my yard. Right now there are little baby olives growing. These are about the size of a tic-tac. You can't eat them right off the tree because they're very bitter. They have to be cured. How, you ask? Here's a good website about curing OLIVES.Personally, I like to mix a solution of vodka and vermouth, then skewer two or three olives onto a small wooden or plastic stick (toothpick works great.) and soak the olives in the solution. Gradually decrease the amount of solution over a short period of time. When solution is gone, the olives are done! :-)

Saturday, June 16, 2007

We went up to the center of Montpellier today. I never grow tired of going up there. This is just Europe in it's natural beauty. My wife and I kid each other, we say every now and then it catches up to us that we are in the South of France and we have a moment. Between work and stopping at the market for food our lives have stabilized into a comfortable existence. When we take little weekend trips like this, it reminds us of what a beautiful experience this is .

This statue is called the three graces ( "Trois Graces" ) which I googled and found that they are Beauty, Mirth and Good Cheer . A perfect statue for this places as there are ample examples of all three.